RALEIGH – There are lots of different kinds of milestones that evoke strong emotions. The first mile of a new journey brings the promise of places yet unseen, expectations yet unfulfilled. The last marker on a long trip can trigger feelings of dread, remorse, or relief, depending on how onerous the trip was and how eager you are to reach your destination.
And then there are milestones that, like the odometer turning over, derive their significance simply from arithmetic. We celebrate 25th, 50th, and 100th anniversaries as more important than, say 26th, or 53rd, or 107th anniversaries for no other reason than their divisibility. On the set of “NC Spin,” the statewide television show of which I have been a part since its inception in 1998, we commemorated our 400th episode this week with a special show featuring a huge cast of panelists, topics, and reminiscences.
I am greatly appreciative to Tom Campbell, the creator and moderator of “NC Spin,” for affording me the opportunity to participate in this unique public-affairs program each week. He and I had spent a lot of time together in 1998 talking about the concept, along with a number of outstanding collaborators and staff members. Tom and generations of the Campbell family have played a key role in North Carolina broadcasting and public affairs for a long time, including the founding of one of Eastern North Carolina’s leading television stations, running radio stations, serving in top posts in state government, and creating Campbell University in Buies Creek.
My interest in a weekly, statewide public affairs program for commercial television stemmed from three main sources: my tenure in 1989 on the staff of The New Republic magazine in Washington, where I helped prep panelists for the PBS program “The McLaughlin Group”: my appearance for two years on “North Carolina This Week” on WUNC-TV; and a research project I conducted as a William C. Friday Fellow on the potential value of statewide television programming in promoting knowledge of public affairs and civil but spirited debate about the issues facing North Carolina.
Borrowing a little from Column A, a little from Column B, and so on, we came up with a model for “NC Spin” that has stood the test of time. Starting on WRAZ, the Triangle’s Fox affiliate, the program soon expanded to broadcast and cable channels in Charlotte, the Triad, Wilmington, Asheville, and other communities across the state. Currently, “NC Spin” is broadcast on 16 TV channels, usually but not exclusively on weekends, as well as 14 radio stations in markets from the mountains to the coast.
Our stable of panelists has grown over the years to include an impressive array of experienced statesmen, provocative thinkers, and passionate advocates for their respective public causes. And then, of course, there’s Chris Fitzsimon, my regularly weekly sparring partner. We are both from Charlotte, both graduated from public high schools within a few years of each other, and both went to journalism school at UNC-Chapel Hill. I don’t know what in the world went wrong with him. But we still have grand time debating, jabbing, and poking. During the commercial breaks, though, we mostly agree – about the latest “American Idol” results, for starters.
Over the years, “Spin” has attracted a loyal audience of some quarter-million North Carolinians, including just about every state politician, lobbyist, and political junkie there is. Some of their comments in advance of the 400th episode celebration were truly generous and gratifying. “Watching NC Spin’s thirty-minute informative and thoughtful discussion each week is thirty minutes well spent,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Burr. The program “contributes to the public discourse in North Carolina with its keen focus on state politics and government,” said Secretary of State Elaine Marshall. “It’s obvious,” said Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry, “that the program makes an honest effort to present both sides of the argument. Voters can listen to both sides and then make up their own minds. That’s a good balance.”
Martin Lancaster, former congressman and current president of North Carolina’s community college system, put it this way: “’NC Spin’ provides North Carolinians a valuable weekly opportunity to eavesdrop on the conversation of intelligent and diverse individuals discussing important issues affecting North Carolina. Whether you agree or disagree with the panelists, the lively exchange is a valuable tool to keep viewers interested in and informed about the matters of state.”
When you realize that the likes of former governors, attorney generals, mayors, congressmen, newspaper editors, and corporate executives watch your TV show each week, it keeps you on your toes. You know that if you offer a half-baked opinion, or make an inaccurate claim, you’ll hear about it (particularly when the show’s fans include famously observant and loquacious leaders with surnames like Friday, Martin, and Hunt). But what I find most satisfying about “NC Spin” is that its reach isn’t limited just to the politicos. I can’t even begin to count the numbers of times a perfect stranger has come up to me, without so much as an personal introduction or handshake, and proceeded either to praise some point I made the previous week or berate me for my utter foolishness. In fact, it happened twice Wednesday on the way to the 400th episode taping: once at the drug store, where I was buying shoelaces for the Little Conqueror and the Little General, and then a sandwich shop, where a state employee thanked me and other panelists for criticizing the gap between state employee and teacher pay raises this year.
That moms pushing strollers in the mall, boys in the Target stockroom, police officers in the parking lot, and salesmen at my favorite clothing store all say they are loyal fans of “NC Spin” is powerful evidence that Tom Campbell had a brilliant idea eight years ago, and that we’ve been doing something right ever since. Check out this space in another eight years – perhaps I’ll have something more to add on the occasion of our 800th episode.
Watch out for the Spin!
Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation.